The US has always experienced relentless political activism against public education. This creates a climate where teachers, and the institution they work in, are actively hated by a wide swath of the public. This is due in no small part to proponents of religious education.

It's true that teachers receive an above-average salary, but that can be both a blessing and a curse. The curse is that your wages are a matter of public record, and more than half of voters earn less then you, though teaching their precious children should be a privilege.

A second thing is that schools are the repository of social problems that they can't solve, including poverty, racism, the proliferation of firearms, and rise of violent rhetoric.

My state outlawed the teachers' union several years ago, and a lot of senior teachers took early retirement or went into other jobs. Most were old enough that they had settled into their lifestyle, and weren't going to get rich by changing careers. The word they used the most was "respect." My neighbor, one of the best teachers in the district, is now working as an engineer. His spouse is a mid six figure executive.